Acceptance of COVID19 Vaccines among Health Care Workers in Al Risafa Directorate of Health in Baghdad

Mohammed, Ghaith Sabri; Mohammed, Iman Ahmed; Mohammed, Reem Zeki

doi:10.52573/ipmj.0201.177173

	Acceptance of COVID19 Vaccines among Health Care Workers in Al Risafa Directorate of Health in Baghdad
Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal
Article 15, Volume 21, Issue 4, 2022, Pages 476-481 PDF (263.26 K)
Document Type: Research Paper
DOI: 10.52573/ipmj.0201.177173
Authors
Ghaith Sabri Mohammed^* ¹; Iman Ahmed Mohammed²; Reem Zeki Mohammed¹
¹Bab Al-Muadham PHC Training Centre. Baghdad, Iraq
²Family Physician, Manager of Training and Human Development Centre at Al-Rusafa Health Directorate, Baghdad, Iraq.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 19 containment measures are reaching a new turn with the introduction of several new vaccines. It is obvious that new vaccine acceptance will play an important role in the control efforts and not only the vaccine effectiveness and safety which are the main objective of this study. AIM OF THE STUDY: To figure out the level of acceptance of COVID19 vaccines among health care workers in Al Risafa Directorate of Health. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is an online cross-sectional self-filled survey conducted in a 10 days period with the enrollment of 2423 participants from the largest directorate of health in Iraq that is Al Risafa directorate of health, the sample included all job titles and has been conducted prior to the administration of COVID 19 vaccines in Iraq. RESULTS: The majority of participants were PHC based, dentists more than others, most of them are nonsmokers and 44% had history of previous infection. The highest percentage 57% rejected the idea of having the vaccine, due to safety concerns and lack of conviction while 76.8% of total participants preferred to postpone the vaccination. History of vaccination with influenza vaccine was associated with better acceptance rate. CONCLUSION: The acceptance level of all new COVID 19 vaccines is disappointedly low among health care workers which would affect disease transmission control plans. Participants with previous good attitude for having vaccines such as flu vaccine showed better acceptance rates. Safety concerns, myths about vaccines and lack of trust lead to (hard to vaccinate) vaccine coverage problem.
Keywords
Vaccines; COVID19; Acceptance

References
Lazarus J V, Ratzan S C, Palayew A, et al, A global survey of potential acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine, Nature Medicine, 2021; 27:225-28. Sallam M, COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Worldwide:A Concise Systematic Review of Vaccine Acceptance Rates, Vaccines 2021; 9: 160, accessed: https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9020160. Laine C, Cotton D, Moyer D V, COVID-19 Vaccine: Promoting Vaccine Acceptance, Annals of Internal Medicine, February 2021, accessed: https://doi.org/10.7326/M20-8008 Skjefte M, Ngirbabul M, Akeju O, et al, COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant women and mothers of young children: results of a survey in 16 countries, European Journal of Epidemiology 2021; 36: 197-211 .accessed: https://link.springer.com/journal/10654 Shekhar R, Sheikh A B, Upadyay S, et al, COVID 19 Vaccine Acceptance among Health Care Workers in the United States. Vaccines, February 2021 https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9020119 Ghazi. H, Taher T, Alfadhel S, et al. ACCEPTANCE OF COVID-19 VACCINE AMONG GENERAL POPULATION IN IRAQ, Iraqi National Journal of Medicine Jan 2021; 3, Issue 1 Alqudeimat Y. · Alenezi D. · AlHajri B. et, al. Acceptance of a COVID-19 Vaccine and Its Related Determinants among the General Adult Population in Kuwait, Medical Principles and Practice accessed from: https://doi.org/10.1159/000514636 . Walid A, Anan S, COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance and Its Associated Factors Among a Middle Eastern Population, Front. Public Health, 10 February 2021 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.632914 Malik A, Mcfadden S M, Elharake J et al, Determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in the US, EClinical Medicine26 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100495 10. Al Awadhi E, Zein D, Mallallah F et al, Monitoring COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in Kuwait during the Pandemic: Results from a National Serial Study, Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 2020;14. 11. Kuppalli K, Brett-Major D M, Smith T C, COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance: We Need to Start Now, Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 2021;8, Issue 2, https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofaa658 12. Feleszko W, Lewulis P, Czamecki A, et al, Flattening the Curve of COVID-19 Vaccine Rejection—An International Overview , Vaccines. 2021; 9: 44. 13. Qattan A M, Alshareef N, Alsharqi O, et al, Acceptability of a COVID-19 Vaccine among Healthcare Workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Frontiers in Medicine, March 2021 accessed from https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.644300 14. Al-Metwali B, Al-Jumaili A, Al-Alag Z, Exploring the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine among healthcare workers and general population using health belief model, Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, May 07, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.13581 15. Dzieciolowska S, Hamel D, Gadio S, et al, Covid-19 vaccine acceptance, hesitancy, and refusal among Canadian healthcare workers: A multicenter survey, American Journal of Infection Control, available on line: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2021.04.079 16. Gadoth A, Halbrook M, Martin-Blais R, et al, Cross-sectional Assessment of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Among Health Care Workers in Los Angeles, Annals of Internal Medicine, February 2021 accessed from https://doi.org/10.7326/M20-7580
Statistics Article View: 246 PDF Download: 107